


Laundry

by XaykWolf



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bumblebaby, F/F, Post-War with Salem, Pregnancy, children ocs, side Renora, side seamonkeys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-02 00:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17253986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XaykWolf/pseuds/XaykWolf
Summary: Yang and Blake bring an unusual gift to Velvet and Coco's baby shower.AKAThe one where Yang loses Blake, but not for the reasons you might think.





	Laundry

Moments after Yang's knock, Coco answered the door with a smile. Yang grinned, the wrapping of the package in her hands crinkling as she shifted it to the other hand to do her special secret handshake with Coco, and then she stepped aside for Blake to pull Coco into a warm hug.

Coco lifted her sunglasses momentarily. “So glad you both could make it.”

“Hey!” a voice squeaked at Blake’s feet. Coco laughed.

“Sorry Bumblebutt, I mean I'm glad all three of you could make it,” Coco corrected, moving around Blake to pick up Umbra and heft her into a bear hug. Umbra laughed and squirmed but inevitably planted a wet kiss on Auntie Coco’s cheek.

“I still can’t believe you call our kid that…” Yang muttered as she took Umbra back in her free arm. Coco grinned, and Yang could swear she could see a wink behind those signature shades.

“Anyway, come on in! Velvet’s in the kitchen. Yatsu’s helping her get the cake out of the box. Or he should be doing it himself, but you just try to tell those big brown eyes ‘no’. I’ll watch.” They all laughed and stepped inside. The natural lighting and smell of brewing espresso made the space feel homey.

Yang set Umbra down on the ground. “Why don’t you go play with Lian? I’m sure she’s around here somewhere. Knowing Uncle Ren, they’ve been here for half an hour already.” Umbra leapt down and ran off giggling. Blake attached herself to Yang’s side and laid her head on her shoulder. The hum just short of her wife’s true purr warmed Yang’s heart as they watched their daughter speed away.

“She takes after you most,” Blake said quietly. Yang responded with a kiss on the top of Blake’s head then led the way to the kitchen. A table with a few packages already on it sat between the dining room and the counter with the percolating coffee, and Yang set down their own gift.

"How've you been, Velvs? The change is looking good on you."

Velvet smiled, turning from the box in Yatsuhashi's hands. "I am good, thank you! Coco has been trying to keep me off my feet, but I hate to stop moving."

"No surprise there," Blake said. "We're all made for action one way or another." A thump and crash, followed by two different sets of giggling and "We're okay!"s from the living room all but proved her point.

Yang shook her head with a smile. "Can't keep em down for long! Oh, but don't worry Velvs, we'll make sure your kid stays far away from the Valkyrie/Xiao Long madness!" Blake rolled her eyes indulgently before elbowing Yang in the ribs.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, dear. Especially not with Neptune and Sun talking adoption." A knock on the front door and Sun's loud greeting filtered into the kitchen. "Speak of the devil."

After Sun and Neptune, more colleagues and old classmates arrived in bursts until the house was comfortably full. Shower guests mingled until Yatsuhashi, at Coco's signal, began passing out plates laden with cake. Sounds of catching up and reminiscing interspersed with the obligatory congratulations to Coco and Velvet.  Yang had to pause her third retelling of the defeat of Salem to chase after Umbra, who had somehow commandeered the cake server and was chasing Lian with it, both girls full of too much sugar and laughing louder than the whole party.

When everyone seemed to be done with cake, and the children had all passed out from a sugar crash, Fox appeared with the first of many presents from the table in the kitchen. The items ranged from expected (Weiss' certified top-rated crib or whatever) to absolutely bizarre (Nora's dust-infused rattle and pacifier set accompanied by Ren's sincerest apologies and a gift card to Vale's best maternity store). Near the end, Yang watched Fox pull her package from the dwindling pile and hand it to Coco. Seconds later, Coco looked around to find Yang's eyes.

“Yang...what the hell is this?” Coco asked, as the wrapping paper fell away from her hands and she held up the offending object. Velvet looked mildly amused and shook her head. A bulk pack of 20 shirts was definitely not a usual gift, and Yang was sure they weren’t exactly Coco’s style. Nevertheless, she was sure it’d be the perfect gift for the expecting couple. At the very least, she got some laughter and intrigued looks from the rest of the guests.

Yang held off answering, but when Coco pulled her shades down, Yang lifted her hands in surrender. “All right, I’ll explain. You’ll thank me when you don’t have to do laundry three times a week. Here’s the thing...”

-

Yang couldn’t find Blake. And not in a “they decided to each do their own thing in a separate room for a while and then Blake decided to crawl out onto the roof” way (and that happened more often than you’d think). More like Yang had left for the store for 15 minutes and returned to a completely empty house. She’d thrown the groceries into the fridge and searched the whole place, top to bottom, she was sure. The lights were off, no note on the table like there would be if Blake had also simply stepped out for something. Yang’s pulse hammered as she thumbed through her scroll to Blake’s speed-dial. The answer had been a quiet buzzing that led Yang to the bedroom nightstand on Blake’s side of the bed.

Thoroughly freaked-out, Yang did the next best thing. When Ruby picked up the scroll, Yang filled her in in a frantic rush. Soon Yang was racing around Patch with Ruby and Weiss fanned out in a grid pattern, calling for Blake. It was imperative that they find Blake. Adam may have been long since dead, but Salem had left behind plenty of minions that would relish the chance to take out any Huntress, partially-retired or no.

The shadows lengthened, and Yang grew progressive more and less worried at the same time. It was true Blake was a likely target for dark forces, but she was also a formidable opponent. Her partner had become an incredibly proficient fighter after she’d returned to them, and there was practically no way no one would’ve heard Blake fighting someone.

That left an even more troublesome thought. Did Blake run? Yang was sure she knew Blake inside and out by now. They’d been together for three years. Hell, they were married for the gods’ sakes! They were even trying...

Yang shook the thoughts away, determined. No, she’d find Blake. Blake was somewhere close. She wouldn’t run away again.

Ruby waited for Yang at the end of the street where Yang and Blake lived. Breathless, Yang reached Ruby with a hopeful look, but Ruby simply shook her head. Biting her bottom lip, Yang searched the area with her eyes once more. The buzzing of wings found its way to Yang’s ears, and Weiss dropped out of the sky from her Queen Lancer’s back.

“Nothing?” Weiss only shook her head.

“You’re sure she’s okay?” Ruby asked. “You seem more calm than I thought you’d be.”

“Nah, I’d feel it if something happened to her,” Yang responded. Her instincts hadn’t let her down practically in ages. And they never had with Blake.

“Maybe you should call her parents?” Weiss offered. “They’d know her best besides the three of us.” Yang considered the idea then figured it couldn’t hurt.

Yang found the picture of Kali (the resemblance to Blake never ceased to strike her) and hit the call button. After multiple rings, the click was a shock to Yang’s heart.

“Hello? Yang? Is everything all right, sweetie?” Yang couldn’t take the time to relish in the normally soothing voice of her mother-in-law. She barely kept her speech understandable as she related what had gone on for the past few hours. At the end of her explanation, silence stretched.

“Are you there?” Yang asked, heart pounding.

“Oh dear. Yang, honey, hear me out... Did you happen to check your dirty laundry hamper?”

Yang’s jaw dropped open. “Huh?” She was sure she had checked the whole damn house! But wait...no, she hadn’t really seen the use in upending the laundry in her desperate search for Blake. Why on Remnant would Blake be there?

“Oh,” Kali said, laughing quietly. “Oh my. I’m sorry, Yang. I should’ve thought to warn you this might happen. Go check there and then give us a call back. I’d say some congratulations are in order. Love you!” The click followed by the dial tone filled the street as Yang pulled her scroll away from her ear.

“Um...” Yang said, brain halted and racing simultaneously. “One place to check, I guess?” Ruby and Weiss exchanged a look. Yang led them  back into the dark house. Moving quickly to the laundry room, she flicked on the light and zeroed in on the seemingly innocent hamper. Nothing about it looked out of the ordinary, but Yang started pulling out sweaters and shirts, one after the other. After she’d extricated a pair of her favorite jeans, she spied a pair of black cat ears nestled in the sea of fabric. They twitched in the colder air. The most angelic groan followed, and Yang’s heart fluttered in relief. Pulling on her orange scarf, Yang found resistance.

“No...” Blake muttered cutely from her hiding place. “Mine. ‘S mine. Le'ggo.”

Yang chuckled. “Blake?” The black ears twitched again.

“Five more minutes...” A choking noise from the doorway drew Yang’s gaze to Ruby, who barely held back a laugh. Weiss looked equally amused, though she had the decorum to merely smirk at the scene.

“I got tuna?” Yang tried again. The ears stood on end. Bleary amber eyes appeared around the scarf and an adjacent hoodie.

“Tuna?”

Yang chuckled. “Yes, babe. Tuna. Come eat with Rubes, Weiss, and me.”

The eyes narrowed sleepily. “Why Weiss n Rube here?”

“We were looking for you. I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Wh...oh.” The embarrassment in Blake’s voice send a shock of warmth through Yang’s chest. Even if she’d been irritated at the situation, Yang wouldn’t have been able to stay that way after Blake’s head popped out from the clothes cutely. A flush covered Blake’s face.

“Hey there, stranger,” Yang said, smiling. Blake squinted against the light up at Yang.

“Hey...what time is it?”

“Roughly 6:30.”

“What?” Blake shot up from out of the clothes, taking the sweater with her as it wrapped around one shoulder and her hips. The scarf dangled from clenched fists. "You left for the store half an hour ago, though!" 

Ruby laughed outright, and Yang couldn’t stop her own from bubbling out too. Putting an arm underneath Blake's butt, she lifted her out of the hamper as the rest of the clothes fell away. Yang drew the hoodie off of Blake to drop back in the basket.

"Are you feeling okay, love? You were in there for a while."

Blake nodded but drew the scarf around her neck and mouth, inhaling deeply in place of a more detailed answer.

Soon they were seated around the coffee table in the living room, Blake curling sleepily into Yang on the couch with her tin of tuna, still wrapped in Yang's scarf. Yang retold all that she'd done after returning from the store to her sheepish partner, and Ruby finally broke.

"So why were you in the laundry hamper anyway?" she asked what Yang had really wanted to know, but a lot more bluntly than Yang would have.

"I don't know," Blake replied in between bites. "Yang went to the store, and all I could think about was wanting to find a warm, safe place for a nap. The hamper just felt right, but I can't explain why."

Yang snapped her fingers. "Your mom might know. I mean, she knew exactly where to find you, and I have a feeling it was more than just mother's intuition."

"You were supposed to call her back anyway, right?" Weiss added, and Yang nodded.

Kali picked up after one ring. "Yang? Did you find her?"

"I'm here, Mom," Blake grumbled bashfully. Kali laughed.

"Good, dear. Honey, they're both on the phone! Yes, Yang found her." Kali sounded muffled. After a minute, Kali said more clearly, "Your father and I are so happy for you both, Blake. As soon as Yang called, I knew what was happening. It finally worked!"

"What do you mean, Mrs. B?" Yang asked. Blake looked at her, just as puzzled.

"I mean she's finally pregnant!" Kali exclaimed, and Yang's heart skipped a beat. A clattering came from the other end of the line. Distantly, Kali was saying, "Oh my little girl is finally going to be a mother! Ghira, go make arrangements! You and I need to be on the next ship out to Sanus!"

"Your mother just ran off to pack, I think," Ghira said into scroll. "I'd better explain really quickly what you should expect in the next few months. Blake will probably bury herself in anything that smells like Yang, so Yang, you're going to have to buy several sets of clothing. I don't think you'll want to be missing fresh clothes, and it's likely Blake will be stealing yours more and more as the pregnancy goes on. I think it's some sort of territorial thing. Mammalian Faunus seem to do best during pregnancy if they're around those they feel closest to, and when that fails, a loved one's clothing is the next best thing. Your mother was bad about it when she was pregnant with you, Blake. I swear I had to run around shirtless half the time with the Fang because she'd stolen them all. And gods forbid I come home late from a mission!"

"Ghira, honey! Are you packing?" came from the distance in the speaker. All four girls chuckled.

"Yes, dear!" Ghira called away from the phone. They could hear his grunts as he stood. To Yang, he said, "Just keep a few hidden away, and try to give Blake the ones that have your scent on them the strongest. That should keep her...instincts...satisfied. Oh, and be ready. Kali will be sure to remember lots of stories from when she was pregnant on the ride there, and I'm certain she'll want to tell you them all. I've got to get going, but we'll keep you updated. Love you both!"

"Love you too! Thanks, Dad," Blake said, smile growing. Yang grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Yeah, thanks, Chief Belladonna."

"Congratulations, you two. Oh, and Yang?" Yang blinked. "It's 'Ghira'."

The dial tone stretched in Yang's shocked silence. That is, until Ruby squealed and jumped up.

"Oh my gosh, you're pregnant! Wait till Dad hears! No, wait, this means I'm going to be an aunt, oh this is the best day ever!" Yang found herself swept up into a tight hug along with Blake. Ruby spun them around in a tight circle, somehow missing the coffee table, and somehow lifting them off their feet despite being at least half a head shorter than them both. When Ruby had finally let them down, they heard Weiss' quiet laugh.

"Congratulations! Glad it finally worked. Why don't we celebrate by dragging Yang out to shop for clothes? My treat?"

"Sounds good to me," Yang replied. "Oh Blake, you should probably keep the scarf for now. There's no telling when I'll have something with a stronger smell on it." Blake looked at her over the edge of the orange fabric.

"I'd like to see you try and take it." The challenge in her wife's statement was almost too tantalizing to pass up, but Yang settled for wrapping her arm tightly around Blake's shoulders instead.

"I love it when you're feisty."

The shopping trip turned out to be an absolute lifesaver, because there were precisely twenty one times in the next nine months that Yang found herself on the very last clean shirt she owned. It wasn't her fault missions could take so long, and she was saving for three now! The infamous scarf barely lasted, currently a threadbare piece of wool in a box in the corner of the closet. It sat nestled right next to Umbra's purple baby blanket and a pacifier in the shape of a rosebud.

-

"Aww, that's cute! I had no clue!" Nora yelled. Everyone present nodded in agreement, and Sun looked more than mildly amused.

Coco turned to Velvet. "Did you know this was a thing?" Velvet shrugged.

"I knew being around a partner was important in pregnancy," she replied. "I guess it goes more than that?"

Yang nodded. "Trust me, like I said, you'll thank us later. It might not have become an issue for you yet, but you haven't been apart all that often since you found out Velvs was pregnant, right?" Coco shook her head.

"School has been out of session for the summer since we learned. But that should change in about two weeks."

"So then the real question is," Blake said, a lovely mischievous smile growing. "How attached are you to that beret of yours?"

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about the Bees one night, as we do, and that led to the notion of how cats are very smell-oriented. Then I thought about how that might affect Blake during pregnancy, and this...whatever it was...came to me. I lowkey also just wanted to give you all the image of Blake buried in a laundry hamper of Yang's clothes. Cuz I thought it was cute.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think! And here's to 2019 being the ear of the Bees!


End file.
